Grant: Doctoral: Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships

Microwave tomography (MWT) is a promising low-cost, portable alternative or complementary biomedical diagnostic technique for conventional soft-tissue imaging modalities. MWT uses microwave scattering measurements in a safe, non-ionizing frequency range of a few hundred megahertz up to a few gigahertz to quantitatively reconstruct the bulk electrical properties, i.e., the permittivity and effective conductivity, of the tissue being imaged with or without the use of a contrast agent. These frequency-dependent properties are not only unique to different tissue types in the human body but also vary with the tissue's physiological state, offering a new quantifiable factor in the diagnosis and investigation of pathological conditions; human breast imaging applications of MWT are well established and a number of promising pilot studies have already been completed. This proposed study will first explore the use of MWT in relatively unexplored areas of diagnostic medicine, focusing on different anatomical regions of the human body and detectable changes in their bulk electrical properties attributed to physiological distress or abnormality. A corollary to this research will focus on the use of magnetic nanoparticles, a synthetic contrast agent, for contrast-enhanced microwave imaging. MWT will then be experimentally evaluated through the development of a prototype system designed specifically for breast imaging. Testing of this system will be undertaken using non-biological breast phantoms containing synthetic tissue-mimicking materials with dielectric properties similar to their biological analogues. The experimental component of the feasibility study will culminate in a series of clinical human breast imaging trials involving at least sixteen healthy volunteers using the newly-developed system, without intent to detect any particular breast pathology.